Mini Essay Draft 3 Passengers/Wishing Well

Both "Wishing Well" and "Passengers" are about the disconnect from reality and how necessary this human connection is despite societal pressures to remain distant from this closeness. We need to connect with one another in order to actually feel and observe what is occurring in the real world around us. By allowing ourselves to engage in contact with "strangers" feelings of joy or comfort can be evoked from within. 

The understanding of strangers in the poem "Wishing Well" comes into play and helps express this message the poet, Gregory Pardlo, is in fact trying to convey to the readers. While strangers normally express some sort of danger that we as humans distance ourselves from they take on an entirely opposite meaning in this piece. Strangers allow the narrator and the other man at the outside of the stadium to create a bond that proves to be special to the narrator who at first seems to be unconcerned about anything going on around him. They connect when both men make a wish at the wishing well and hold hands while doing so. Holding hands is a sign of affection or closeness, allowing the narrator to for once feel something real and to make that connection that society pressures us to ignore. It is as if he is being awakened by this moment of contact that he tried so hard to ignore in the first part of the poem. The narrator expresses finding comfort in this stranger's company by not wanting to let go of his hand once they are done making the wish. Wishes signify the idea of hope or longing for something that you truly desire. Perhaps what is desired in this poem is simply an acquaintance to push back on the feelings of loneliness that is hinted at many times by Pardlo throughout the piece. We receive insight into the narrator's head in which he thinks " "...and is about to hand me back to the day he found me in" sounding upset that this physical connection with the man is about to cease and the loneliness is able to reappear. Being disconnected from the world around you is bound to create a sense of sadness because as humans we crave the attention of another person, even strangers, since it gives us a sense of who we are and a sense of comfort.

Just like the connection that occurs in the poem, there is a connection in the short film "Passengers" despite the fact that there is no dialogue throughout the whole film, just facial expressions. The beginning signifies loneliness by showing the bird sitting completely alone, isolated. The strangers on the subway say nothing to one another like it is an unspoken rule to once again remain disconnected from people you do not know. To help pressure the importance of the lack of connection is the lack of dialogue, for in the film there is absolutely nobody speaking. All you have to refer to to get a sense of emotion is their facial expressions. The connection does not come from physical contact but mentally through a game that involves the feather of the bird whom is seen alone in the beginning. These people on the subway partake in this game, connecting with one another without speaking. Their expressions show the joy that playing this game with one another has made them feel, even if it appears to be childish. Once again proving the point that humans need to have a connection and that strangers can provide this invoking feelings forcing them to arise. Feathers tend to stand for freedom a majority of the time, so perhaps these passengers on the subway are freeing themselves from the disconnect society tells them to maintain.

Strangers and ultimately the bond that is created among them in the poem and the short film expresses the theme that there is a lack of connection from both people and the real world. It seems as though this is forced on us like an unspoken rule by societal standards. These works allow a push back and show the benefits of partaking in human connection along with the effects of doing so.